It is well known that the command and control equipment used in the field in support of weapon systems contains a considerable amount of sensitive electronic equipment. This equipment must be protected from nuclear, biological and chemical agents, as must the people utilized for operating the equipment.
To this end the sensitive equipment is usually mounted in a container or shelter that must, in the presence of damaging nuclear, biological and chemical contaminates, be maintained at a positive pressure, utilizing cleaned, filtered air. This arrangement obviates the necessity for the users of the equipment having to wear cumbersome protective clothing, and protects the equipment from degradation or corrosion which could render it inaccurate, if not inoperable.
It is well known that the entrance to such a shelter or van cannot be a simple door arrangement, for each time the door is opened, contaminated air would enter the protected area as positive pressure is lost. Accordingly, it has been customary to utilize a protective entrance to provide a pressurized transitional area between the protected enclosure and the surrounding contaminated atmosphere, in order that personnel can enter and exit the protected compartment without loss of compartment pressurized protection. In addition, it can be assured that the individual is substantially free of contamination prior to his leaving the protective entranceway and entering the shelter means. The individual remains in the entranceway for sufficient time for the filtered positive pressure air to completely exchange with the potentially contaminated air that entered the entranceway with the individual.
Speed is a most important factor in the deployment of a protective entranceway, for should through the use of ordinary doors, contaminates be allowed to enter the protected area of the shelter means, there exists no effective means for the rapid decontamination of such area.
The M-10 entranceway in use for many years cannot respond to the requirement for rapid deployment. This is true for the several reasons that the services of at least three people are required in order that the necessary platform be assembled, and the M-10 be brought up from storage. Then, even when these ingredients are on hand, it takes the three people approximately thirty minutes to set up that type of protective entranceway.
As is obvious, at the time of an alert, manpower may not be available or the vehicle responsible for carrying the platform and/or M-10 may in fact not be nearby. In short, the protective entranceways of the prior art were simply not responsive to the needs of modern mobile weapon systems, particularly with regard to the time factor.
It was to meet the need for a protective entranceway integral with the van, container or other shelter means that could be rapidly deployed by one person, without any heavy lifting or painstaking effort being involved, that the present invention was evolved.